The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "restraining orders" ...
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Spa shooter sidestepped police
Following a mass shooting inside a suburban Milwaukee spa, reporters John Diedrich and Gina Barton dug into the history of shooter Radcliffe Haughton with police in his community of Brown Deer. They uncovered a series of failures by police that left a dangerous man on the street, emboldening him to become more violent. Let down by police, Zina Haughton sought protection with a restraining order. She was dead days after it was issued. Diedrich and Barton found Brown Deer did not follow the state’s mandatory arrest law in such cases and failed to uphold its most basic duty: protecting the public. The most remarkable finding was that Brown Deer police actually retreated from a standoff with Haughton even though officers had saw him point what appeared to be a rifle at his wife. The police chief was defiant. Elected officials in Brown Deer deferred to the chief, who operates with little oversight in the village, the reporters found. The case revealed a loophole in state’s domestic violence laws: No one could hold local police accountable for failing to follow the law as designed by legislators. Data reporter Ben Poston joined the effort to examine how many domestic violence cases referred to prosecutors result in charges, thus holding other parts of the criminal justice system accountable.
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"Domestic Silence"
Domestic violence is out of control in Ohio. This investigative report finds that men "charged with domestic violence" multiple times in multiple years only served an "average of two weeks" behind bars. Since 2000, the request for restraining orders has doubled in the state of Ohio. Reporters also found that the state spends $1 billion a year in "medical and social services" to pay for domestic violence.
Tags: domestic violence; restraining orders; civil-protection order; Franklin County; abuse; Marian Harris; Columbus Coalition Against Family Violence; Ohio Domestic Violence Network
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Sex Offenders: Steps Away
WPLG reports on lax enforcement of Florida's sex offender law. No convicted sex offender is supposed to live within 1,000 feet of a day care centers, but the investigation discovered that 536 such people were doing exactly that, including some in apartments overlooking day care centers. Law enforcement asserted it "lacked the resources and manpower to enforce the law." The state legislature is planning to take a hard look at what must be done to improve the situation. As part of the investigation, reporter Julie Summers compiled information including maps of the centers in relation to the offenders, and a list of Web sites people can use for more information.
Tags: Sex offenders; day care centers; children; living; restraining order; law enforcement; Florida; sexual predators; child molesters
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Unhappy Endings
In this extensive four-part series, the Union-Tribune examines the role of divorce courts and those involved with them. The series takes a look at everyone from lawyers to judges to family counselors, and reveals how they are either helping or hindering those going through the divorce process. The various ways in which parting couples can separate -- whether peacefully, contentiously, or in some cases, abusively -- is also examined, and the role the courts play in pushing couples toward those stances also comes into play. Issues of child custody and child support are also discussed, as are issues about the very nature of divorce courts themselves -- from the viewpoints of those who enter them, run them, and profit from them.
Tags: divorce; relationship; relationships; separation; children; custody; alimony; family court; mother; father; restraining order; child support; adultery; lawyers; judges; visitation
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System easy on repeat abuser
A Denver Post special report on violence in the family reports on chronic offenders and "what victims' advocates call problems with how the state lacks a unified record-keeping system to track repeat batterers, how cities and counties aren't equipped to communicate with each other, and how the courts punish such abusers."
Tags: domestic violence; repeat offenders; restraining orders; crime; abusers; batterers; chronic offenders
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No title (id: 13118)
The St. Petersburg Times looks into the story of a domestic killing. A Florida Highway patrolman claims that he shot his wife in self-defense, but according to others, the husband had a history of controlling and obsessive behavior. (Jan. 22, 24, 27, 29, 1995)
Tags: Carlton The Road to Mount Enon Restraining order Murder 16 pgs.
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Till Death Do Us Part
Cleveland Magazine reports that " Only 27 years old, Lisa Filiaggi, mother of two, was brutally murdered last year in what has become on of Lorain County's most talked about crimes. As her ex-husband stands trial for the murder, loved ones reflect on what Lisa meant to them and how she tried so hard to stay alive.'
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No title (id: 10796)
The Daily Breeze analyzed the violent deaths of 56 women who police and prosecutors say were killed by current or former husbands and boyfriends in Los Angeles County. The series showed how the women sought help from a legal system poorly equipped to save them, finding that some had previously pressed charges or won restraining orders, Sept. 18 - 20, 1994.
Tags: CA Dedic Leiser Murder Reforms Garcetti Abuse 24 pages